The Standard

For those who aren’t aware, the LA Marathon is this Sunday, March 18. The LA Marathon is a little over 26 miles and runs (pun, intended) between Downtown LA’s Dodger Stadium through Chinatown, Olvera Street, Little Tokyo, Bunker Hill, Angeleno Heights, Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Hollywood, The Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood, Brentwood and finishes in Santa Monica. What does all this mean for most Angelenos? It means that for most of Sunday all the TV stations will be occupied with coverage of the runners and traffic is going to be a shitshow.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a few things to do this weekend around Los Angeles that don’t involve spandex and sweat:

1. SANTA MONICA: This Saturday, March 17th, the Santa Monica Museum of Art will have it’s annual INCOGNITO benefit. With original artworks by 500 contemporary artists, INCOGNITO features work by luminaries including John Baldessari, Mark Bradford, and Judy Chicago, as well as a host of work by young artists. Each piece is signed on the back and the artists’ identities are revealed only after purchase. All artworks are the same size 8”x10” and available for only $350 (+ tax).

Last year at Incognito

1. MIRACLE MILE: The Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) is hosting it’s monthly Yarn Bombing meeting this Saturday. Much like our good friend Magda Sayeg and her group Knitta Please, Yarn Bombing Los Angeles (YBLA) is a group of guerilla knitters who have been collaborating since 2010 to stage public installation and performances to help expand the definition of public art to include street art, and in turn, street art and graffiti to include yarn bombing. Monthly meetings take place every 3rd Saturday from 2-5pm at CAFAM.

Yarn Bombing Los Angeles strikes again!

1. CHEVIOT HILLS: Fans of food coloring and beer will also be quick to remind us of another important event happening this Saturday: St. Patrick’s Day! Irish pubs across the world will be jam packed but one of our all time favorites is a locals only kinda bar called The Irish Times. On St. Patrick’s day they open promptly at 9am, have three Irish bands, a bagpiper, two beer bars and will be serving up all the Irish essentials: Fish & Chips, Beef Stew, and Corned Beef. Erin go Bragh!

2. HIGHLAND PARK: When people visited Highland Park in the past they found a bunch of auto-body shops and taco stands (not that that’s a bad thing). Revitalization has since hit this neighborhood on the North-East side of Los Angeles and the end result is nothing more than adorable. A recent article in the LA Times has just named a whole bunch of check-out worthy shops, stores, and eateries along Highland Park’s York Boulevard. Our favorites include the design store, Matters of Space and the restaurant Maximiliano. Click here to read the whole article.

Matters of Space

1. BOYLE HEIGHTS: LA’s favorite radio darling, KCRW, recently aired an eating/walking (mostly eating) tour of Boyle Heights, the neighborhood located due East of Downtown LA. During the tour, KCRW producer Gillian Ferguson and Noah Allison of GoodFoodPreservation.com explore the area on foot, stopping to eat some delicious dishes, like a Oaxacan cemitas (sandwich), and what Allison calls the “best bean and cheese burrito in L.A.” as well as some other local specialties. Check out the video they made, we guarantee it’ll make you hungry:

Have a great weekend!!